THUNDER BAY – It’s a mostly reluctant slate of candidates that are entering the federal election race in Thunder Bay-Superior North.
Green Party candidate Amanda Moddejonge, Conservative Party of Canada hopeful Joshua Taylor and the NDP’s Chantelle Bryson each said there’s no need for a federal vote to take place with no clear end in sight to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But all three nonetheless have hit the campaign trail running.
“I think it was unwise to call this election, especially now,” said Moddejonge, who in 2019 ran for the Greens in Thunder Bay-Rainy River, finishing fourth.
“The people in Canada really do not want an election at this time, especially as we’re going into a fourth wave of COVID. My goal in this is to bring attention to a lot of the people who have been left behind for the last year-and-a-half, with all of this, much like the people of Afghanistan were left behind on the tarmac yesterday as they were trying to flee Afghanistan.”
Taylor, a first-time candidate for the Conservatives, who finished second in both Thunder Bay ridings in 2019, said his goal is to do better in the riding than his party traditionally has, having not won a seat in the riding since Donald Cowan won Port Arthur-Thunder Bay in 1930.
He pointed to the party’s leader as the biggest difference between this year’s election and the one contested less than two years ago.
“I think for starters Erin O’Toole is really trying to put forward a more big-tent conservatism and I think that’s important so we can really appeal to a broader group of people than our base typically would be,” Taylor said.
“I’m the youngest candidate by a significant amount so I feel like I appeal to a different demographic and I think I can get youth heard in this upcoming election.”
Bryson, a lawyer and social justice activist, said it’s clear not everyone is happy to be in the midst of another federal election, but since it’s inevitable, she said she believes NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh would make the best prime minister for Canadians and the party’s platform the best fit for the country.
“I really want to see the economic and social recovery not rest on the backs of small business and families and workers. We’re going to rest the economic and social recovery on the shoulders of the ultra-rich, with a one per cent tax on anyone with a wealth of over $10 million and also a 15 per cent tax on large corporations that have disproportionately benefited off the pandemic,” Bryson said.
People’s Party of Canada candidate Rick Daines said he’s watched the country become divided over the past year-and-a-half, as businesses close and discussions of mandatory vaccinations and vaccine passports. He also accused the governing Liberals of spending too freely and unsustainably.
It has to change.
“I see the main issue is our freedom. That's what is on this ballot with this election. Justin Trudeau himself admitted his government is tyrannical and that our chance to change that is by voting. So, I pray that people choose freedom and vote for me and the PPC on September 20, so we can get our country back to the great place that it is,” Daines said.
Incumbent Patty Hajdu, the former Minister of Health, said she’ll stand on the Liberal’s pandemic response, adding her government has also brought a lot of investment to Thunder Bay-Superior North.
She maintained an election is a chance to seek a new mandate from the electorate and tweak the programs that have helped sustain the economy through the pandemic.
“This is an opportune time for Canadians to reflect how we continue to manage not just this pandemic, but the re-establishment of our economy, making sure small- and medium-sized businesses have what they need to succeed and what we can do for Canadians going forward.”
The election is scheduled for Sept. 20.
